Vania beat me tactically: Bartoli

Kolkata, Sep 19 (UNI) World No 12 and top seed Marion Bartoli after being shot out of Sunfeast Open in straight sets by a pocket dynamite Vania King 1-6, 5-7 said she was outplayed by her opponent tactically.

''Vania played better, I had never played her before. So. I was not tactically prepared. The slow surface also helped her to return the balls better,'' Bartoli said after her ouster.

''I never go into a match thinking I will win this. But I also think every match is poised at 50-50 before the start. You just have to back yourself and take your chances and I did just that,'' King added.

Eighteen-year-old American Vania King, ranked 78 places lower than her fancied opponent, played intelligently and unleashed an array of delightlful strokes at acute angles that literally took the wind out of the French lass.

As the match stretched well past midnight, King showed a combination of pace and power to sent the big French packing.

Vania, who turned pro only last year, broke Bartoli in the fourth and sixth games of the first set in which Bartoli could hold serve only in the second game.

The second set was more competitive, though Vania constantly put pressure on Bartoli's service, with her quick movements on the court and smashing down the line returns.

Vania got four break points in the prolonged third game, but Bartoli managed to save it in the end. The games went with serves till the eighth, but in the ninth Vania broke the Wimbledon finalist to go up 5-4.

However, Bartoli broke back in the very next game, but Vania again demolished her rival in the 11th to lead 6-5.

Serving for the match, Vania unleashed a good passing shot and finally wrapped up the 98-minute issue by firing an ace.

"I was also not feeling very well since I came here. I plan to go back home and take rest for a week and then play in Luxemburg and the European circuit,'' Bartoli, who flew out of the city today, said. Meanwhile, after the match, Vania, who had partnered Sania Mirza to win the Morocco said, ''Marion has a tendency to dominate from the word go. My game plan was not to let her do so and make her move a lot. And I guess the ploy worked for me.'' UNI BA SSC KN1600